


Special Delivery

by AXEe



Series: Lucky Thirteen [11]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Gen, Time Lord Rose Tyler
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2020-06-26 16:25:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 13,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19772011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AXEe/pseuds/AXEe
Summary: AU of "Kerblam!:





	1. An Old Friend

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! Welcome to chapter one of my 13/Rose AU of "Kerblam!". But, wait, you say, part ten isn't even finished yet. To which I reply I know, but I wanted to get a move on the rest of the season, so then I can go back and finish up part ten at my leisure.
> 
> It made sense in my head, trust me.
> 
> Anywho, please enjoy! :=)

******

The TARDIS sped through the time vortex with an almost reckless abandon, Her two pilots frantically working the controls.

“Hold on to something!” The Doctor called out as the console room shuddered and rocked back-and-forth.

“We _are_ holding on!” Yaz called back as she and Graham and Ryan all clung to the console for dear life.

“Well hold on tighter!” Rose exclaimed

“Can you do something about this turbulence?!” Graham called.

“We’re avoiding something!” The Doctor exclaimed, letting out a snarl of annoyance “oh! I can’t get a hang on these new systems!”

“Hang on,” Rose looked up suddenly, frowning at the image from outside the TARDIS, staring intently at the bright blue bolt of light rapidly closing in on them “is that…?”

“Ah! It’s a teleport pulse!” The Doctor exclaimed as the bolt of light suddenly entered the room, zigzagging around for a few seconds before suddenly stopping, changing shape into a tall, humanoid figure in a blue uniform and cap holding a bright orange-white box in its hands.

“ _Delivery for The Doctor_ ” it announced as a musical chime filled the air.

“Ah! It’s the Kerblam Man!” The Doctor exclaimed excitedly, actually hopping off her feet in clear excitement.

“It’s the _what_?” Rose and Yaz asked as The Doctor hurried over to the robot.

“It’s the Kerblam Man” she repeated.

“You’re just making sounds now” Graham complained as The Doctor excitedly took the package from the robot.

“ _Delivery fulfilled,_ ” the robot proclaimed “ _and, remember,_ ” it held up on mitten-like hand in a thumbs-up “ _… if you want it…Kerblam it_ ” it added before it shimmered away with another musical chime, a spinning hologram of the word ‘kerblam’ appearing briefly.

“Space postman,” Graham chuckled “I’ve seen it all now”

“Kerblam’s the biggest retailer in this galaxy,” The Doctor explained, quickly tearing into her package “can’t remember ordering anything though,” she paused, frowning “Rose, did you order something?”

“Wasn’t me,” Rose shook her head “I like to haggle, remember?”

“Oh, right,” The Doctor nodded “hmm, must have been awhile back,” she noted as she pulled open the package, throwing sheets of wrapping aside before finally pulling out the item within, letting out an excited gasp as she held up the bright red fez “Rose, what’d you think? Still me?” she asked as she popped it atop her head, grinning widely as she stood up and did a little twirl.

“Not…really” Rose admitted hesitantly.

“Check it out,” Ryan exclaimed, reaching into the box “they even use bubble wrap” he giggled.

“Doctor…,” Yaz reached down, picking up a small slim object that had fallen out of the bubble wrap as Ryan had grabbed it “look at this,” she held it out “on the back of the packing slip”

“ _‘Help me’_ ” Rose read as she absently reached out and plucked the fez off her wife’s head (earning a pout).

“Probably someone just bored out of their minds mucking about,” Ryan dismissed “trust me, I’ve been there, you should have seen what we used to put in the trainers”

“But what if it’s not?” Yaz insisted “what if someone really is in trouble?”

“Well, they got the right address then” Rose remarked as she took the packing slip from Yaz and turned it over, looking for any more clues and finding none.

“Can’t hurt to check can it, Doc?” Graham pointed out.

The Doctor and Rose glanced at each other, some kind of silent exchange that the other three humans weren’t privy to passing between them.

“Right,” The Doctor suddenly exclaimed as she moved back to the console, taking the fez back from Rose and putting it back on “Kerblam, here we come” she declared as she pulled a lever, the TARDIS rocketing off with a jerk…

******

Stepping out of the TARDIS, the five found themselves standing outside a massive industrial sprawl.

“Right,” The Doctor pointed up at the large planet peeking through the clouds “that’s the planet Kandoka and we’re on its moon,” she explained “Kerblam turned it into one massive warehouse”

“Look at the size of it!” Graham exclaimed.

“Must be thousands of people here” Yaz commented.

“How are we going to find whoever sent that note in all of this?” Rose wondered

“Halfway across the universe and I feel like I’m back at work” Ryan grumbled.

The Doctor suddenly gasped excitedly, turning to face him.

“Ryan, brilliant!” she exclaimed “come on!”

“What?” Ryan muttered as the Time Lord hurried down the ‘road’.

“We’re going undercover,” she called back, walking backwards “chop-chop!”

“Oh,” Rose groaned “I hate it when we go undercover”


	2. New Arrivals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter TWO! Enjoy! :=)

******

The lobby of Kerblam’s main offices was surprisingly small considering that their operations took up a good majority of the moon’s surface. The lobby was neatly carpeted and well-lit, various robots—identical to the postman who had teleported aboard the TARDIS save for their uniforms—milled about, their cheerful faces, with their almost cartoonish expressions sent shivers of unease down Rose and the three Humans’ spines.

“Is it just me or are they really creepy?” Ryan wondered.

“Trust me, it ain’t you” Graham agreed.

“Oi, you two, that’s robophobic,” The Doctor admonished them “some of my best friends are robots” she declared.

“Since when?” Rose scoffed “and K-9 doesn’t count” she added when The Doctor looked about to object as she led the group towards the main desk.

“Yes,” the woman behind the desk—an older, bespectacled blonde woman—looked up at them, smiling openly “can I help you?” she asked.

“Yes, hi,” The Doctor beamed “we’ve just arrived here from Kandoka for our assignments” she beamed widely at the woman, who frowned as she checked the tablet in her hands.

“Hmm, no, I don’t see anyone new listed for today,” she noted “uh, what’s the name?”

“Oh, sorry, silly me,” The Doctor lightly slapped herself in the forehead, wincing as she realized that she’d done it too hard “ow. Sorry, it should be The Doctor, Rose Tyler, Graham O’Brian, Ryan Sinclair, and Yasmin Kahn” she explained.

The receptionist checked her tablet again and shook her head again.

“No, sorry”

“Could you check again?” The Doctor pleaded “it might be the spelling. Oh,” she pulled her psychic paper out and held it up “here’s our reference” she explained as Rose, while the receptionist was distracted reading the paper, aimed her sonic at the tablet.

“Oh,” the receptionist blinked, rearing back slightly in surprise “you’re relatives of the First Lady?” she asked.

“Are we?” The Doctor and Rose both peered at the psychic paper in surprise “ha, we asked her not to put that,” The Doctor continued quickly “didn’t we, gang?”

“We don’t like to talk about it” Rose interjected quickly.

“It’s really uncomfortable” Yaz added.

“We’re very private” Graham added unnecessarily.

“ _So_ awkward” Ryan added.

They were spared from adding even more facts to their cover story when the tablet the receptionist held suddenly chirped.

“Oh! There you are,” she grinned “private shuttle landing,” she scrolled through the tablet “sorry, person error,” she apologized “me, I mean,” she added awkwardly “well, that all seems to be in order,” she beamed “so, let’s you all sorted. Follow me, please” she invited, quickly rounding the desk and leading them down a side aisle, past various display cases which appeared to house artifacts from Kerblam’s past, showcasing their growth and evolution as Team TARDIS’ guide cheerfully greeted the very few human employees milling about.

“Sorry, what was your name again?” The Doctor asked.

“Oh, Judy Maddox,” the woman introduced herself “Head of People”

A man in an orange safety vest absently passed by, waving to one of the robots as he passed.

“Morning, Les,” he grinned “how’s the family?”

“ _Good morning, Daniel,_ ” the robot replied “ _my name is not ‘Les’ but I acknowledge your friendly coworker banter_ ” it held up one of its hands in a thumbs-up.

“Every morning,” Daniel shook his head good-naturedly “so much for machine learning” he grinned at Team TARDIS, waving as he passed by. As he left, the robot he’d addressed as ‘Les’ turned towards them and gave them a thumbs-up.

“ _Good morning, new workers_ ” it greeted as an identical voice cheerfully sang out over the PA.

“ _Kerblam: fully automated, people powered_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This could have been longer I know, but it felt right to end here. Oh well, keep an eye out for chapter three folks :=)


	3. Workforce

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter THREE! Enjoy! :=)

******

The full-body scanner hummed as it slowly spun around Graham, who held as still as possible with an expression that made one think he was facing his own execution.

“The system allocates jobs based on physical fitness, mental skills, and dexterity” Judy Maddox explained as Graham gratefully stepped out of the scanner and allowed Ryan to take his place.

“Oh,” The Doctor gave Rose an excited nudge, pointing as another robot passed by “same model as the Kerblam Man,” she grinned “I love the Kerblam Man”

“Oh, the TeamMates are the friendly faces of the system,” Judy explained cheerfully “they monitor efficiently and productivity, and just generally keep an eye on the organic workers” she explained.

“ _‘Organic’_?” Graham and Rose repeated.

“Oh, listen to me,” Judy laughed “you get so used to the jargon. Gone native” she dismissed as The Doctor stepped into the scanner.

“So, Kerblam is totally automated?” she asked as the device scanned her.

“Uh, no, ninety percent,” Judy explained “as per Kandokan guidelines,” she explained “proud to be a certified ten percent people-powered company,” she beamed as the console she was monitoring suddenly let out a chirp “oh,” she blinked in clear surprise as The Doctor stepped out of the scanner “two hearts?” she asked.

“Courtesy of the First Lady,” Rose explained as she stepped into the scanner “very good healthcare policy” she added.

“I should say so” Judy remarked as the device picked up Rose’s second heart.

Just then the lights suddenly flickered, the room suddenly being plunged into near-total-darkness.

“Not paid your bills?” The Doctor wondered.

“It should come back on in a moment,” Judy explained. As if on cue, the lights flickered back “ah, there we go,” she beamed “you build a warehouse on a moon, it’s never bound to be perfect, is it?” she chuckled “it’s down the self-optimizing systems” she explained as she gave the scanner’s console a light slap before gesturing for Yaz to step inside.

“How’s the morale among the workers?” Yaz asked as she was scanned.

Judy paused, clearly giving the question serious thought.

“Erm, I’d like to think so,” she nodded “of course I’m probably biased,” she added “head of people after all, self-interest after all,” she gave a little breathless laugh “I don’t normally talk this much,” she admitted, clearing her throat “erm, no, I’d like to think that people are happy, privileged even to work at Kerblam,” she explained “I mean, we all know how hard they are to come by” she added as more of the ‘TeamMates’ came over to the group.

“ _Relax as I fix your GroupLoop_ ” one stated as it methodically fixed a small ankle bracelet to each of their left ankles.

“Are we under house arrest?” Rose asked, sharing a confused expression with Graham.

“Oh, no,” Judy laughed “no, the GroupLoops monitor productivity and report back to the system” she explained.

“I wore one of these at my last job” Ryan remarked.

“Oh really, where was that?” Judy asked.

“Sports Stack,” he replied “People’s Republic of South Yorkshire” he added, earning a shared chuckle from Yaz and Graham.

Judy, of course, didn’t get the joke.

“Hmm, I don’t know it,” she began “but I’m happy to have someone with prior experience, I’m sure you’ll feel right at home” she beamed at him.

“Yeah” he grumbled, sharing a roll of his eyes with Rose, who looked equally as impressed as Judy led them through a large set of double doors onto a large catwalk of sorts.

“Six hundred _million_ products,” she began “ten _thousand_ employees, the biggest Human work force in this galaxy. Welcome to Kerblam”

The group stopped, pausing to peer over the catwalk at the massive, seemingly-endless sprawl stretching out below them.

“Ten thousand people and one little message?” Ryan asked. He glanced at The Doctor and scoffed as he followed Yaz and Graham.

Now standing with Rose, The Doctor cringed.

“Might take a while this” she admitted.

“You think?” Rose scoffed…

******

Following Judy through the maze of corridors and catwalks, the group struggled to keep pace with her and her introductory speech.

“Once our customs select a product it’s instantly relayed to our employees here in Fulfillment,” she explained, gesturing to the endless rows of boxes and crates “the workers then scan the product and send it down to the Packing Stations” Judy continued....

******

“…from here, it’s packaged and then put on the conveyor,” she continued, leading them into a smaller area where workers packaged various products and then slid them down a conveyer belt “rule number one: keep all hair, loose clothing, and body parts off the conveyer at all times,” Judy continued “and _never_ , _ever_ climb onto the conveyer,” she warned “any employee found on the conveyor faces immediate termination,”

Spinning on her heel, she cheerfully led them through a sheet of plastic into another area.

“Once it’s packed, the parcels are brought here for final inspections and then, if they pass, are sent down the hatch to the Dispatch,” she gestured to a series of hatches in the wall “down there beats the heart of the Kerblam operation,” she continued proudly “hundreds of thousands of conveyors pumping thousands of products,”

Turning, she gestured to another robotic postman.

“From Dispatch, our Postman retrieve the package and then teleport direct to the customer,” she concluded “any questions?”

The Doctor thrust her hand up.

“Can I do the packing slips?” she asked.

“Sorry, only purple GroupLoops do the packing slips,” Judy explained, gesturing towards the ankle bracelets they all wore, The Doctor’s was a bright orange while Graham’s was purple.

“Right,” Judy declared “that about covers it. Leisure breaks are in the Home Zone,” she smiled again, a sincere smile “right, well, I’ll leave you in the capable hands of the TeamMates” she explained before turning on her heel again and quickly slipping out.

“Stand still, Graham” The Doctor whispered as she aimed her sonic at the GroupLoop on hers and Graham’s ankle.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Switching jobs with you,” she explained “I need purple, that’s where the packing slip came from”

“So, whoever sent the message works in there” Rose nodded along, checking her own GroupLoop to see a bright orange light.

“Exactly” The Doctor beamed.

“ _Hello, team,_ ”

The group all jumped as a TeamMate came over, waving in a jerky, puppet-like motion.

“ _Yasmin Kahn and Rose Tyler, please come with me_ ,” it requested “ _Ryan Sinclair and The Doctor—great name by the way_ ,” it gave a thumbs-up “ _…with my colleague on the left_ ”

“ _Hello, team_ ” another TeamMate waved.

“Leisure break in the Home Zone, wherever that is?” Rose shrugged.

“Roger Wilco,” The Doctor gave her a mock salute “oh! Did I ever tell you about the time I actually met a man called ‘Roger Wilco’?”

“Yes,” Rose nodded as she followed Yaz and the TeamMate “several times” she added.

“Hey! Hey! What about me?” Graham objected, looking around in confusion as he was left alone.

“ _Graham O’Brian_ ,” another TeamMate came up to him, holding a mop and bucket “ _a very warm welcome to Premium Maintenance_ ” it declared cheerfully, holding out the mop and bucket towards him.

Taking them with a scowl, he glowered at Ryan who was grinning madly at the sight.

“Not one word”


	4. On the Job

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter FOUR! Enjoy! :=)

******

Rose grunted as she lugged the heavy crate off the shelf.

“Yaz” she called.

“Yeah, got it” Yaz grunted as she took the crate from Rose and, as gently as possible, eased the unwieldy object into the cart by her side.

“Who wants a chest of drawers delivered right now?” Rose panted out as she leaned against the stepladder’s railing.

“No idea” Yaz shook her head as another cart wheeled over, the same man the group had passed in the lobby pushing it. Coming to a stop, he glanced between the two women.

“All right?” he asked.

“We’re good, Dan,” Yaz smiled “Dan,” she began “do you know if anyone around here needs help?”

Dan frowned.

“Help with what?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Yaz shrugged “just help”

Dan shook his head.

“Like what?” he asked. He frowned, glancing between the two women “are you two from the union?” he asked quietly.

“No,” Rose shook her head as she climbed down the stepladder “we’re just trying to get a feel for the place” she explained.

Dan frowned and then leaned in.

“Word of advice,” he warned “the TeamMates can hear everything here, if they chose”

“Everything?” Yaz echoed, sharing an uneasy look with Rose.

“Total, random monitoring” Dan explained.

“No such as privacy around here I take it?” Rose scoffed.

“Nope,” Dan agreed as he began to push his cart down the aisle, the two women following him “you want my advice, do your job and steer clear of the robots,” he explained “if you do that,” he continued, coming to a stop at the end of the aisle “you might end on a poster” he beamed.

“That’s you” Yaz grinned as she and Rose examined the poster of a smiling Dan holding box under the words which proudly proclaimed that Kerblam’s products were ‘Proudly Human-Picked’.

“Movie star looks,” Dan grinned “I got extra credit for it,” he explained proudly “sent a poster home to my little girl for her bedroom wall”

“How old is she?” Rose asked.

“Six”

“Where is she now?” Yaz wondered.

“She’s upstairs, just had her finals,” Dan joked “no, she’s on Kandoka with her mother,” he chuckled “she made me this,” he continued holding out a heart-shaped pendent around his neck, the word ‘dad’ had been neatly inscribed on it “lacquered with alcadium” Dan continued proudly.

“Wow, expensive,” Rose noted “strong too, that’ll outlast anything”

“Including me,” Dan nodded “actually, that’s a bit depressing” he noted.

“ _Hello coworkers,_ ”

The three turned to see a TeamMate standing directly behind them.

“ _Please confine all social interactions to leisure breaks_ ” it continued.

Quickly moving on, the three turned the corner down another aisle.

“How often do you see your daughter?” Rose wondered.

“Every two years I splurge for an economy shuttle,” Dan explained “the rest of the time I’m here”

“You only see her every two years?” Yaz asked, looking shocked.

“It’s not so bad,” Dan dismissed “I only took this job so I could pay for her education,” he explained “wanted to make sure she won’t end up like her dad”

“Her Dad’s all right” Rose assured him.

“Yeah, well, I was a rubbish husband to her Mum,” Dan explained “still, at least I’m working,” he pointed out “unlike half the galaxy. Suppose it’s our own fault really,” he shrugged “while we were all busy staring at our phones, technology went and nicked our jobs from us”

“ _Great conversation, guys,_ ” a TeamMate suddenly interrupted “ _but unnecessary talking can lead to workplace inefficiency and a decrease in productivity. Why not pick up the pace a bit?_ ”

“Yeah, all right,” Dan said, looking worried that he might get a demerit for talking with Rose and Yaz “thanks, Basil”

Waving, the TeamMate turned and walked off.

“God those things are really beginning to creep me out” Rose grumbled.

“Oh, they’re not so bad,” Dan dismissed. He nodded at where the TeamMate had disappeared to “Basil over there used to be a pole dancer until his hips gave out,”

Yaz and Rose both chuckled.

“I like you two, you laugh at my jokes” Dan chuckled as Yaz’s scanner chirped.

“Oh, hmm, antique lamp, section triple nine, stroke five seven dash six” she read.

Dan glanced between the two women.

“No, best not,” he advised, reaching out and taking the scanner from Yaz “not on your first day, you’ll get lost in the triple nines”

“Dan, we’re perfectly capable…” Rose began.

“I’m sure you are,” Dan interrupted “just not sure the system is,” he explained “hardly anything left down the triple nines anymore. The last person to go down got the sack, never saw them again,” he held out his hand for the scanner “not having that happen to you two, not on your first day” he declared, taking the scanner from Yaz and quickly moving on down the aisle.

Now alone, Rose and Yaz glanced at each other.

“Well, I don’t know about you…” Rose began.

“…follow him?” Yaz asked with a grin.

Rose grinned back.

“You read my mind” she nodded as they both abandoned their carts and began to follow Dan…


	5. People Skills

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're BACK! Chapter FIVE! Is up! Enjoy! :=)

******

The triple-nines were indeed empty. The shelves were almost completely bare, the lights had been reduced to the bare minimum, leaving long and looming shadows sprawled across the floors, which were dusty and littered with various odds and ends, things that had most likely been dropped and then forgotten about.

Frowning as she peered round the corner, Rose reached into her pocket and pulled out her sonic, flicking the switch, a bright light flaring into existence.

“Is that a built-in torch?” Yaz asked.

“Yeah,” Rose nodded “trust me, when you’ve traveled with The Doctor as long as I have you learn to be prepared” she chuckled as Yaz dug around in her pockets and unearthed her keys, the keys jingling as she found the small flashlight and flicked it on.

Aiming it around, she frowned.

“He went down here, right?” she asked.

“That’s what I saw,” Rose nodded “Dan?” she called out.

“Dan?” Yaz called, cautiously taking a step forward into the darkened aisle “I don’t like this” she muttered.

“No,” Rose agreed “Dan? Are you down here?” she called “Dan? It’s Rose and Yaz,” she called.

No response came back.

Exchanging a nervous glance, Yaz bit her lip.

“I don’t like this” she muttered.

“No” Rose agreed as they swung their lights up and cautiously edged down a dark and empty aisle…

******

“ _Product incoming_ ”

Another product slid down the conveyer towards The Doctor. Fumbling with it for a second, she managed to secure a hold on the lamp and, setting it down, began wrapping it in bubble wrap.

“You two are _so_ good at this,” a voice suddenly said.

Looking up at the woman whose station was between hers and Ryan’s, The Doctor grinned.

“Thanks, Kira,” she nodded “though to be honest I was hoping for something a little less really repetitive,” she admitted. Looking over at Ryan, she was amazed at how he blew right through the endless stream of products coming down the conveyer “you’re a ninja at this, Ryan” she grinned.

“This was my life before I met you” he answered.

“Looks boring” she noted.

“It is,” he nodded “even worse if it takes you a long time to learn how to do things physically,” he added “you should have seen me when I first started, my first month, total disaster,” he explained “lucky I had mates to help me out”

“Oh, I was terrible too my first day,” Kira spoke up from her station between Ryan and The Doctor “I’m surprised the system kept me on,” she added. She glanced between the two time travelers “but now I just take a deep breath at the beginning of every shift and tell myself _‘Kira Arlo, you can do this’_ ,” she let out a little breathless laugh “sometimes I almost believe it” she added.

The Doctor pouted at her sympathetically.

“What I don’t get is, why does Kerblam need an organic workforce anyway?” she wondered “I mean, these are repetitive, mindless tasks; why not just get the robots to do it?”

“Do you not watch the news?” Kira asked.

“We travel a lot” The Doctor dismissed.

“A lot” Ryan added.

“Kandokan labor laws,” Kira explained “after the people power protest movements all companies have to make sure that at least ten percent of its employees are actual people at all levels. Like the slogan says: ‘real people need real jobs’. Work gives us purpose after all”

“Some work” Ryan grumbled.

“Do you want a tip?” Kira offered “sometimes, whenever I get bored, I imagine customers opening their parcels back on Kandoka, their big smiles. I only ever got one present, but I can never forget how it felt, like a…little box of happiness”

“You only ever got one present in your whole life?” Ryan asked.

“Last year, for my birthday,” Kira explained “a little box of chocolates from Judy, our Head of People” she gave a little happy sigh

“What about your Mum and Dad?” Ryan wondered.

“I never knew them,” Kira explained “but, I like to think that’s how our customers feel when they open their parcels. We make them happy, doing what we do here”

“You have a great view on life, Kira” The Doctor praised.

“Thank you,” Kira beamed “that’s so sweet of you; no one’s ever said something that nice to me before”

The Doctor beamed at her as another product and accompanying packing slip came down.

“Kira,” The Doctor began “where are these packing slips written up?”

“I don’t know,” Kira admitted “they just arrive here, our little instruction slips” she explained.

“Kira, have you ever you met anyone here who’s worried?” The Doctor asked “who needs help?”

Kira frowned and shook her head.

“I…don’t know what you mean” she said in confusion.

“ _Kerblam performance check,_ ” the PA suddenly announced “ _all systems at ful…_ ” it suddenly trailed off with a garbled drone as the lights flickered and dimmed.

“Another power drain?” The Doctor wondered as the lights flickered back on.

“All right, back to work, everyone,” a man in a neat suit pushed through the plastic sheeting, absently pausing by Kira’s station “come on, Kira, reengage brain if you can find it”

“Hey, don’t talk to her like that” Ryan objected.

“It’s fine, really” Kira tried, clearly hoping to avoid a confrontation.

“No it isn’t” The Doctor objected, coming over.

“Who are you?” the man asked.

“I’m The Doctor, I’m new. You?”

“Jarva Slade,” he replied “warehouse executive, _your_ boss”

“Well you certainly got the clipboard for it” The Doctor beamed.

“How would you like a warning for insubordination?” Slade threatened.

“I’d love one,” The Doctor grinned “I could add it to my collection,” her expression became serious “gentle people skills advice, Mr. Slade, the good executives, the ones who are _really_ good at their jobs know whenever one of their employee’s is having trouble, when they need help,” she leaned in “so, tell me, Mr. Slade, how good of a manage are you? Know anyone who needs help?”

A muscle in Slade’s jaw noticeably twitched.

“Get back to work,” he ordered, stepping back “all of you” he added as he stormed out.

“Be careful of Slade,” Kira pleaded “last week Zaf got sacked for just leaning on the conveyer and then he was gone” she explained.

“Gone?” Ryan asked, sharing a look with The Doctor “has that been happening a lot?”

Kira frowned, clearly noticing a pattern.

“Actually,” she began “yeah, Junillo from the canteen, Zaf. And it’s weird, because Looper called Junillo’s Mum and…she never arrived home”

******

Meanwhile, down in Fulfillment, Yaz rounded another corner.

“Dan?” Yaz called out again “Dan? Are you down here?”

“Anything?” Rose asked as she rejoined Yaz.

“No, nothing,” Yaz sighed “maybe I’m just being paranoid” she began.

A sudden terrified scream broke the air.

“Dan?!” both women took off a sprint after the sound, skidding around the corner. Skidding to a stop, they both frowned as they assessed the fallen and crushed scanner and the heart-shaped pendent, the chain broken.

“Yaz?” Rose suddenly whispered, looking up “don’t make any sudden moves,” she warned.

Looking up, Yaz gasped as she saw the two Postmen surrounding them both.

“Get up, nice and slow” Rose breathed as they both slowly got to their feet, the Postmen each taking a step forwards towards them.

“Run,” Yaz breathed.

Gasping, they both dove through an empty shelve, rolling and somersaulting across the dusty floor before frantically getting to their feet, sprinting down the aisles.

“There! Door!” Yaz panted out, pointing at a large door marked ‘EMERGENCY EXIT’. Fumbling for her pockets, Rose pulled out her sonic and aimed at the door, which swung open.

Diving through it, both women swung back their legs, kicking the door shut, before Rose soniced it for added security.

“Come on,” she grabbed Yaz’s arm and hauled her to her feet “we’ve got to the find The Doctor!” she panted out as they sprinted down the corridor…


	6. Changing Gears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're BACK! Chapter SIX is now up! Enjoy! :=)

******

“ _Rule number one hundred and forty-five, do not ingest any of the cleaning fluids_ ” the TeamMate continued.

Graham muffled a groan as he leaned heavily against the mop.

“All right, guys, thank you, I got it” he grumbled.

“ _Your maintenance mentor is Charlie_ ” the two TeamMates gestured towards behind him. Turning, Graham blinked in surprise and waved at a young man who had just slipped out from a door at the far wall.

“Oh, all right, cockle?” Graham grinned.

“ _Happy maintaining_ ” the two TeamMates cheered before they turned and walked out.

Now _finally_ alone, Graham turned towards the young man named ‘Charlie’.

“Graham,” he introduced himself, holding out a hand “nice to meet another actual person”

“Charlie,” Charlie replied “I, uh, I’ve just done the gents, so…”

“Oh,” Graham pulled his hand back “I’ll just settle for a friendly wave then,” he declared “cor those blokes gone on a bit don’t they?” he exclaimed, gesturing behind him “that lecture lasted half my life. And I’m three hundred and ten!” he laughed as they sat down at a small table or desk in a corner

“I saw you arrive, earlier,” Charlie remarked “wasn’t expecting anyone new down here”

“Well then it’s your lucky day then, mate,” Graham grinned “so, how’s this all work then?” he wondered.

“Uh, well, we’re beeped if there’s a spill,” Charlie began “there are certain time limits for how fast we get to a spill,” he continued “and the system monitors our progress, makes sure that we get where we’re supposed to go on time and how well we do everything”

“So, in other words,” Graham began “even though everything’s automated, there’s still an idiot boss”

“Uh, yeah,” Charlie chuckled “basically, yeah”

The lights suddenly flickered again, pulsing like a strobe light at some kind of dance club.

“ _Temporary power failure_ ,” the system announced “ _Team Nine, please take an emergency leisure break in the Home Zone now_ ”

“Team Nine, that’s us” Charlie explained to Graham…

******

The Home Zone was brightly lit and green, covered with grass, moss-covered rocks and dotted with a few trees, resembling a vibrant and thriving parkland. But upon entering the area, it was clear to anyone who had actually seen a _real_ park with _real_ plants and trees that the Home Zone was a fake.

The grass was fake, more like the artificial turf found at some playgrounds and golf courses, and the trees and rocks were also fake.

Reaching up, Rose fingered one of the leaves on the trees.

“It’s plastic” she noted.

“Plastic?” Yaz reached up and fingered a leaf for herself “oh yeah, it is” she realized.

“Rose! Hiya!” a familiar voice called.

Turning, Rose grinned as The Doctor came bounding across the fake grass towards her, her excited grin suddenly faltering as she slowed to a stop as she reached Rose.

“What is it?” she asked, looking between Rose and Yaz, noting the tension in their body language “what’s wrong?”

“One of the workers went missing” Rose explained.

“Now when you say ‘missing’…?” The Doctor began

“Missing!” Yaz insisted “gone. We heard him scream and when we went to look all we found was this” she held out the crushed and mangled scanner.

Taking it from her, The Doctor turned it over, examining it.

“Was there anything else?” she asked.

“Two delivery bots,” Rose explained “both of them came after us”

The Doctor nodded.

“Right, you two stay with me,” she ordered just before she broke away and approached Graham, who had just entered the area “Graham, I need you to find me the original plans for Kerblam, as well as any information about the complex” she instructed.

“How am I going to do that?” Graham asked, confused.

“You’re perfectly placed,” she enthused “no one question's the maintenance man. You’re perfect for the job”

“Yeah, and I’ve got a chronic skin irritation” he countered.

Dismissing him with a slight roll of her eyes, The Doctor returned to Rose and Yaz.

“Graham, did you get that spill sorted?”

Graham looked up at the call, waving to Charlie as the young man wheeled his mop bucket over.

“It’s all right, I got it, Charlie,” Graham assured “everyone, this is Charlie,” he introduced the other man “Charlie, this is my grandson, Ryan, and this is Yaz, Rose, and The Doctor” he introduced the others, who waved and greeted Charlie.

“Hi, Charlie!”

Looking over, the group watched as a clearly excited Kira came over to Charlie, tripping over her own feet in her eagerness and, while she managed to catch herself, dropped her lunch tray, spilling its contents all over the fake grass.

“Oh,” groaning, she moved to pick up the fallen foodstuffs, only for Charlie to swiftly hurry over and began to pick up the items, practically falling over himself in his eagerness.

“I’m so sorry” Kira apologized.

“It’s all right, I don’t mind” he assured her.

“Really?” she asked skeptically as he stood up.

“Really, it’s fine” he beamed shyly at her.

“Oh, it’s just, I’ve got such butterfingers” she complained.

“Oh I love butter” Charlie enthused.

For a moment, the two simply stood there, staring at each other awkwardly, clearly not sure what to do next.

“Erm…bye” Charlie suddenly exclaimed, quickly turning and leaving, still holding Kira’s lunch, leaving her to quietly groan in exasperation.

“Stupid, stupid” she muttered to herself as she walked off.

“Aw,” The Doctor pulled Rose close “young love” she grinned, quickly placing a kiss to Rose’s temple.

“Workplace crush?” Ryan wondered.

“Looks like it” Yaz nodded.

“Reminds me of you when you were younger,” Graham chuckled, smiling at Ryan “course, when I say ‘younger’ I mean like last week” he added, earning two laughs from Rose and Yaz and a sarcastic one from Ryan himself.

“Funny” he deadpanned.

“Come on,” The Doctor beamed “Rose, Yaz, with me,” she declared “we’re going to file a complaint with the boss”

******

Jarva Slade’s office was at the other end of the complex, quite literally on the other side of the moon, at the top of a very tall towering building. The office itself was small and windowless, almost completely empty save for a desk and three chairs, one of which Slade himself sat in, Judy Maddox standing besides him.

“A man has gone missing,” Yaz insisted “maybe you should call the police”

“There are no police” Slade replied.

“The authorities then” The Doctor exclaimed.

“We _are_ the authorities,” Judy explained “Kerblam is its own jurisdiction, we’re responsible for all employees here”

“Something is wrong here,” Rose urged them “people have gone missing, not just Dan Cooper, but others”

“And, this arrived in a delivery for me” The Doctor explained, holding out the packing slip, which Slade took and examined for a moment before holding it out to Judy.

“What do you think it means?” she finally asked.

“Not exactly cryptic” Yaz noted.

“Where are the packing slips printed up?” Rose asked “who has access to those systems?”

“No one,” Slade answered, earning a twin set of groans from Rose and The Doctor “they’re auto-generated once a customer places an order,” he explained “but, they’re placed in the packages in Packing, _your_ department” he pointed at The Doctor almost accusingly.

“Have you worked down there?” she asked “there’s no time to put anything on the packing slips. Not a joke, and certainly not a cry for help”

“This was put on the packing slip somewhere _before_ it gets to Packing” Rose added as The Doctor paced the floor.

“Something is very rotten here at Kerblam,” she noted “and,” she turned and fixed Judy with a firm look “I would think that as ‘Head of People’ that you might be just a little more concerned”

Judy visibly swallowed.

“We’ll look into it,” she vowed “you have my word”

“And mine” Slade added.

“Those ‘words’ of yours had better mean something,” The Doctor warned “because if anything happens to us, or our new friends, you’ll have me to answer to,”

Standing up, Rose and Yaz followed her out of the room.

“Was that too much?” she wondered.

“No,” Rose shook her head “sounded about right”

“I kinda liked it” Yaz agreed as The Doctor turned and looked over her shoulder at Judy and Slade.

“Laters,” she called as the doors slid shut “oh, I’m not saying that again,” she screwed up her face in clear disgust “sticking with ‘bye’ from now on”

“So, whatever happened to going undercover?” Yaz wondered as they turned a corner.

“That was before I knew that people were going missing,” The Doctor explained “I’m changing gears, going right to the top”

“I bet you were the kind of kid who poked a stick into a wasp’s nest, just to see what happened” Yaz chuckled as they came to a stop.

“Don’t like conspiracies and don’t like bullies,” The Doctor explained “and there’s a flavor of both all around here. Now,” she beamed “Yaz, ever hidden in a paneled alcove?”

“No…” Yaz answered slowly, looking between the two blondes in confusion.

“Oh, story of my life,” Rose groaned “paneled alcoves, closets, cupboards, heating ducts, you name it”

“Oh cheer up,” The Doctor pouted at her wife “it’s fun” she grinned as she slid open a paneled alcove, eagerly ushering the other two women inside.

“Why are we doing this?” Yaz wondered.

“We’re waiting until Slade leaves his office and then breaking in to snoop around, obviously,” The Doctor grinned as she climbed inside the small space “speaking of wasps,” she began “did I ever mention when I met Agatha Christie?”

******

Night fell hours later, but for Graham, down in ‘premium maintenance’ he would have never noticed. Idly rolling around the cramped space in a worn-out office chair, he glanced at Charlie.

“So, Charlie,” he began “how long have you had a thing for Kira?”

Charlie looked up.

“How’d you know about that?” he asked.

“Oh, it’s one of my superpowers, mate,” Graham answered “I can detect the tiniest of social cues”

“Really?”

Graham barely resisted rolling his eyes.

“No!” he exclaimed “but I’ve got eyes, don’t I?” he laughed “so…?” he invited.

Charlie awkwardly came over.

“It’s, uh…um, I don’t know,” he exclaimed “I just…it’s like I can’t…” he trailed, hands waving as he searched for the rights words “like I can function when I’m around her,” he explained “she’s just…perfect,” he sighed. He leaned in “I mean, have you smelt her?” he asked.

“Strangely, no I haven’t” Graham deadpanned.

“Oh,” Charlie gave a lovesick sigh “she smells…”

“Perfect?” Graham suggested.

“Yeah” Charlie nodded his expression downright dreamy.

“Listen, Charlie,” Graham lightly tugged on the boy’s arm to bring him back into focus “I still can’t get my nut over how big this place is,” he began “now, if I had some kind of…”

“Diagram” Charlie nodded along.

“Diagram, right,” Graham nodded “well, then I could do my job a lot easier. I mean otherwise I’ll probably get the sack”

Charlie nodded.

“I think I can help with that”


	7. An Error Has Been Reported

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter SEVEN! Enjoy! :=)

******

Yaz was starting to get a cramp in her leg. Shifting, she awkwardly straightened her leg out in the small space. She wasn’t sure what the small space was supposed to be, from the layer of dust coating the floor, it was presumably a storage space that hadn’t been used—if it at all—in years.

Quietly sighing in relief as the blood flow returned to leg, Yaz frowned at The Doctor and Rose, who both sat across from her. Both blondes were nestled close together, seemingly dozing, Rose’s head was resting against The Doctor’s shoulder, tucked under The Doctor’s chin, while The Doctor had her arm wrapped around Rose’s shoulders, one hand absently stroking Rose’s head.

Looking at them both, Yaz was struck by how _content_ they both looked, they could both happily stay in this small, cramped, dusty space forever as long as they had each other, and Yaz found herself humbled by that realization.

She could only hope that she’d one day find someone that special for herself…

******

“ _Our reception area is currently in night mode_ ”

Jumping slightly at the booming announcement, Graham gave Charlie a confused look as the young man led him back up to the front lobby towards one of the glass exhibit cases.

“Right, here we are then,” Charlie said, gesturing to one case “the original plans for Kerblam” he explained, gesturing towards the neat square of paper, slightly yellowed with age but otherwise in excellent condition.

“Right,” Graham nodded “so, you’ve got the codes for all of these cases then?” he asked as Charlie opened the case.

“Yeah,” Charlie nodded with a shrug “the insides of these cases need cleaning too you know,” he shrugged as he very carefully opened the case “we shouldn’t be here” he stated.

“It’s all right, we’re only borrowing it, right?” Graham replied.

Charlie frowned and then nodded slowly.

“Yeah, I guess so” he agreed as he gently eased the paper out of the case.

“Right,” Graham nodded as he snatched the paper from him “mind if I have a friend of mine look this over?”

“What?” Charlie exclaimed.

“Just go!” Graham urged, already hustling Charlie back the way they’d come, passing an inactive, display model Postman as they did “don’t mind us, mate, just passing through” Graham told it as they slipped past it.

Had he looked back, Graham would have seen the Postman suddenly twitch as it came on-line before slowly pivoting as it turned around to watch them go…

******

“I thought that Slade would never leave” Yaz complained as she straightened her stiff back out as The Doctor and Rose soniced the doors to Slade’s office open.

“Right,” The Doctor whispered “what do we see?”

“Well,” Yaz began “if everything’s automated, then why does Slade need a clipboard?”

“Or a filing cabinet?” Rose added, nodding at the object in question.

“Tyler and Kahn, the greatest detectives in the universe” The Doctor grinned as they all gathered around the filing cabinet, which stood against the wall, the lack of any other kind of furniture making it stand out more than it would have in an office in Yaz and Rose’s time.

Trying one of the drawers, Yaz scowled.

“Locked” she realized.

“Sonic Swiss army knives,” The Doctor grinned as she aimed her sonic at the cabinet, the drawer obediently unlocking. Pulling the drawer open, Rose turned the flashlight in her sonic on, the three women peering inside.

“Ooh, paper, very retro,” The Doctor grinned as they slid out a stack of file folders. Setting them down on Slade’s desk, they spread them out “oh my god” The Doctor breathed as they took in the folders’ contents.

“You three had better have a very good reason for being in here!”

Jumping, the three women spun around to face a very angry-looking Judy Maddox.

“Your GroupLoops told me that you were here,” she explained “after hours”

The three travelers all looked down at the anklets still attached and still active to their legs.

“Ohh,” The Doctor groaned “I forgot about that,” she realized “I knew that, but I forgot about it,” she muttered, yelping as Rose suddenly smacked her upside the back of her head “you forgot it too!” she accused Rose, rubbing the back of her head “that’s the thing about conspiracies, there’s too many things to remember and keep track of,” she complained

“Right,” she turned to Judy “what if I said that we three got lost and wandered in here just as the filing cabinet weirdly fell open? How would that play?”

“There were no private shuttle landings from Kandoka today,” Judy pointed out “I checked. Who are you? Industrial spies?”

“We were telling the truth,” The Doctor explained “someone called for help, _and_ …” she pulled Judy over to the desk “…your boss Mr. Slade is keeping a running tally of the missing” she added, gesturing towards the file folders, which each contained the personal file of one of the missing employees.

“That’s not possible,” Judy explained, glancing at her tablet “according to the system these people are all still here, they’re all still alive and still working”

“Clearly, they’re not” Rose countered, hefting one particularly thick file.

“With respect, I’d suggest that you can’t trust your system” The Doctor pointed out.

“Hang on,” Yaz held up a hand “if the system is still keeping track of the missing people, then where are they?”

“I think I can help with that”

The four women turned as Graham and a reluctant Charlie came in.

“Charlie, what are you doing here?” Judy demanded.

“It’s all right,” Graham assured her “my fault,” he held out the yellowed square of paper “and those are the original plans for Kerblam” he explained.

“Oh! Good boy Graham!” The Doctor exclaimed, quickly taking them from him and spreading it out across the desk.

“Wha…those are company artifacts!” Judy exclaimed “Charlie, is this down to you?” she demanded.

“Hush,” The Doctor ordered “right, now we’re…” she trailed off as a deep _thump_ suddenly echoed through the building, the lights flickering out, leaving only dim, red emergency lighting.

“Another power failure?” Yaz wondered.

“That’s not a power failure,” Judy exclaimed “that’s a total systems shut down,” she peered at her tablet, the only source of clear light in the room “power’s gone right down to the foundation levels,” she read “that’s, that’s not possible” she shook her head.

“Wait,” The Doctor turned the blueprints “the foundation levels, here, right?” she tapped the yellowed paper “totally automated, right? No people down there”

“Right” Judy nodded.

“Uh, more urgent problem,” Rose called out “if there’s no power then why is that robot still active?”

Turning, the five were confronted by the sight of a lone robot—a Postman—standing in the doorway, staring at them.

“Oh. Right,” The Doctor muttered “that is a problem, good eye, Rose. Everyone behind Rose and me”

Doing as told, the four Humans shuffled behind two Time Lords as the Postman titled its head at them.

“ _An error has been reported_ ” it announced…


	8. Down to Dispatch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Chapter EIGHT! Enjoy! :=)

******

The Postman continued standing there, staring at the five as Ryan suddenly skidded around the corner, coming to a stop as he nearly ran into the robot.

“Ryan!” Graham hissed “get over here!” he beckoned.

“Nice and slow, Ryan,” The Doctor urged “no sudden moves”

Giving the Postman a leery look, Ryan carefully edged past it to join the others behind The Doctor and Rose.

Suddenly, the Postman took a step forward.

“ _Error reported_ ” it announced as it shuffled into the room, its movements more jerky than normal.

Taking a breath, Charlie broke free from the group, carefully edging past The Doctor and Rose.

“Charlie! What are you doing?” Graham hissed.

“No, it’s all right,” Charlie assured him “I can fix it” he explained as the Postman turned its head to follow his movements.

“ _Error reported,_ ” it repeated for a third time as Charlie reached for it “ _investigating error,_ ” suddenly active, the Postman swung out with one arm, narrowly missing Charlie’s head as it smashed its hand into the wall.

“ _Investigating…investigating_ ” it chanted as it suddenly seized Charlie by the back of his overalls and, swinging him around, suddenly grabbed him by the throat, pinning him to the wall, all the while continuing its chant of ‘investigating’. 

“Charlie!!”

Surging forwards, the others piled on the Postman, grabbing at its arms as The Doctor and Rose aimed their sonics at its heads, to no effect. Working her arms into the fray, Judy suddenly grabbed the Postman’s head, and twisting, tore it off with only minimal effort, a shower of sparks lighting up the room as the Postman’s body suddenly went limp, releasing its hold on Charlie as it crumpled to the floor.

“Breathe!” Rose urged as she, Yaz, and Graham helped Charlie up and eased him against the wall.

“Just breathe,” Graham encouraged “deep breaths, son”

Seeing that Charlie was all right, The Doctor quickly gathered up the Postman’s head and carried it over to the desk, scanning it.

“Oh…that’s…different” she announced.

“What is it?” Rose asked, coming over.

“I don’t know,” The Doctor shook her head “it’s like…there was a massive attack on this Postman’s systems”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Judy exclaimed “this has never happened with one of the delivery bots before. They’re not even supposed to leave Dispatch”

“You’re wrong,” Yaz accused “there were two of those delivery bots when Dan Cooper went missing; they came after Rose and me”

“Oh, Rose, look at this” The Doctor suddenly exclaimed.

Frowning, Rose scanned the Postman’s head, frowning at the results.

“What is it?” Ryan asked, coming over.

“It’s like…,” Rose shook her head “it’s like the system poured all its energy into this one delivery bot”

“Like the system attacked us,” The Doctor explained “like its gone rogue”

“Of course it’s gone rogue,” Judy exclaimed “no one would do this deliberately”

“If I ever find out that you’re lying…” The Doctor trailed off, not needing to elaborate.

“I have tried for _years_ to make Kerblam more of a people-powered company,” Judy exclaimed “giving opportunities to people like Charlie here, people who need a second chance” she explained.

The five travelers turned to look at Charlie questioningly, who seemed to have finally gotten his breath.

“She’s right,” he nodded “a lot of us wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her”

“All right,” The Doctor began “if the system’s gone rogue then what we need is the original code, the base code for Kerblam itself”

“Where would we get that?” Yaz wondered.

“An original delivery bot?” The Doctor suggested.

“Yeah, but, that’s got to be like a hundred years old by now” Rose pointed out.

“I think I might have an idea” Graham suggested…

******

The reception area was still dark and still as the five travelers, plus Judy and Charlie, made their way across the floor.

“Yeah, here we are” Graham nodded towards one case, where a small, spherical robot sat within on four claw-like legs. The small plaque identified it as:

Kerblam Delivery Bot Version 1.0  
a.k.a. ‘Twirly’

“Huh, Twirly, that’s fitting” The Doctor noted as she soniced open the case.

“It’s kind of cute, isn’t it?” Yaz mused.

“Yeah,” Rose nodded in agreement “kind of cuddly even”

“Very retro,” The Doctor agreed as she scooped the small, soccer ball-sized robot out of the case “I love of a bit of retro” she grinned.

“Doctor,” Judy frowned at her tablet “I’ve just had a notification, an employee’s just gone missing” she announced.

“I thought you said that the system didn’t tell you that anyone was missing?” Yaz asked.

“It didn’t,” Judy nodded “not until now, it’s like it…deliberately sending out a message”

“Who’s gone missing this time?” Rose asked.

“Uh…let’s see, ah, name of…‘Kira Arlo’.” Judy answered

“What? Kira?” Charlie exclaimed “we have to find her!” he exclaimed.

“We will, Charlie,” Rose assured him “where was Kira last reported before she went missing?”

“Uh,” Judy frowned at her tablet once more “that’s…not possible, it says that she was in Dispatch”

“But that’s impossible,” Charlie objected “no people are allowed down there, there’s not even a way down there”

“I don’t know, she obviously found her way down there somehow” Judy shrugged, clearly at a loss.

“I know how we can find her,” Ryan suddenly said “Yaz, Charlie come with me,” he instructed “the rest of you keep working”

“Hey, hey, hold on,” Graham objected “how’re you going to get down there?”

“I know how these places work” Ryan grinned over his shoulder.

Looking doubtful, Graham glanced at Rose and The Doctor.

“Er, Rose, can I ask a favor?” he asked hesitantly.

Rose smiled.

“No need” she said as she swiftly followed the three out of the room.

“Be careful!” The Doctor called out to her as they disappeared around the corner “right,” she turned back to Twirly “now, let’s see how we…” she grinned as the small robot activated.

“ _Hello,_ ” it greeted “ _we are currently having a sale on housewares. Please say ‘yes’ to select the item for purchase_ ”

“No” The Doctor stated.

“ _Thank you, I have saved your preferences,_ ” Twirly chirped out “ _and remember, if you want it, Kerrr…_ ” it trailed off with a gurgling drone.

“Oh!” The Doctor scowled as she gave the small ‘bot a shake “it’s out of power, we need to charge it up somehow”

“Charlie’s got all sorts of tools down in maintenance” Graham explained.

“Right, lead on Graham” The Doctor cheered…

******

The sign above the hatches that lead down to Dispatch bore various safety and health warnings, chief among being the largest warning, which proclaimed in bold lettering ‘NO ORGANICS BEYOND THIS POINT’.

“Right,” Ryan exclaimed as the four came to a stop “here’s to sticking it to rule number one”

“You did this at your last job?” Yaz asked as Ryan swung up one leg through the hatch.

“Yeah” he nodded.

“How’d that go then?” Rose wondered.

“Really, really badly,” Ryan admitted “sprained ankle and a warning,” he explained. He glanced at Charlie, letting out a nervous breath “I should warn you, mate, that I have a coordination problem, not super serious, but it takes me a while to learn how to do things physically”

“You…you don’t have to do this,” Charlie explained “I can find Kira myself”

“Mate, that’s not how we roll,” Ryan explained. He glanced at Rose and Yaz “right?” he asked.

“Right” Yaz nodded.

“We stick together” Rose nodded.

“Right,” Ryan let out a breath as he gripped the top of the hatch and began to flex his knees “Dispatch, here we come” with a grunt, he swung his legs up and slid down the hatch.

Repeating the process herself, Yaz swung herself up and down the hatch, her semi-terrified yell echoing behind her.

“You can do this, Charlie,” Rose encouraged Charlie as he lined himself up “ready?” Rose asked.

Nodding, he took a breath and then slid down the hatch, Rose following seconds later, but unlike the others, her exclamation was one of excited glee, rather than terror…


	9. Urgent Help Requred In Dispatch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Triple update! Chapter NINE! Enjoy! :=)

******

“Right,” The Doctor leaned back “got you all charged up, Twirly, so…” she reached out and flicked the small switch, the small robot humming to life.

“ _…blam it,_ ” it exclaimed “ _we’re also having a sale on cushions. Cushions liven up the grimiest workplace. Like this one_ ”

“OK, Twirly, hi,” The Doctor grinned at it “I’m The Doctor, this is Graham and this is Judy. And can you pause all sales protocols for the moment?”

“ _Even the upsales?_ ” Twirly asked.

“Even the upsales,” The Doctor explained “besides, you’ve just had a nap of about two hundred years, so all of your offers are out of date anyway” she added.

“ _Without sales protocols, my only function is delivery_ ” Twirly explained.

“No, no, you don’t need to do that either, mate” Graham exclaimed, shaking his head.

“ _Then what is my function?_ ” Twirly asked “ _I serve Kerblam, and Kerblam serves the people_ ”

“Oh, see, this is why I love robots,” The Doctor grinned “so single-minded”

“We need your help,” Judy explained. She held out her tablet “these are my Kerblam identification credentials,” she explained “we need your help in solving a problem that may fundamentally save Kerblam”

“ _The future is very confusing for my protocols,_ ” Twirly exclaimed “ _I am only a delivery bot_ ”

“Hey, don’t make it nervous” Graham pleaded as The Doctor stepped forward.

“All right, Twirly, listen closely,” she held up a length of cable “I’m going to patch you into the system; I want you to look past all the security protocols and upgrades, past all of that, and down the base code which only you can recognize. I want you to look for any errors or glitches, then I want you to _deliver_ that information to us. Understand?”

“ _Retrieve and deliver,_ ” Twirly reiterated “ _I understand_ ”

“This might tickle” The Doctor warned just before she connected the cable to the small port at the robot’s ‘back’. Almost instantly a shower of sparks shot from Twirly’s form as it started twitching.

Grunting, The Doctor quickly yanked the cable out.

“ _Help…help….,_ ” Twirly stuttered out “ _help me…help me, Doctor_ ”

The Doctor frowned.

“Why are you saying that?” she asked.

“ _Not Twirly speaking,_ ” Twirly explained “ _the system, Kerblam. Help me, help me, Doctor_ ”

“The _system_ sent the message” The Doctor exclaimed.

“It can do that?” Graham asked.

“It’s a very advanced AI,” Judy explained “bordering on semi-sentient even”

“Twirly, where’s the problem?” The Doctor asked “why does the system need help?”

“ _Unknown,_ ” Twirly stated “ _urgent help required, help in Dispatch_ ”

“In Dispatch?” Judy asked “but…,” she glanced at Graham “that’s where…”

“Rose is” The Doctor breathed…

******

“Are you sure about this?” Yaz called out over the wind whipping by her and the others as they slid along the narrow chute, sheer momentum carrying them along.

“’Course,” Ryan answered “the parcels are, and that’s all we are now, just parcels”

“But the parcels get wrapped in bubble wrap to protect them!” Charlie pointed out.

“Protect them from what?” Yaz asked.

“From _that_!!” Rose pointed at where the chute simply dropped almost straight down.

“Oh…I don’t like roller coasters!” Yaz exclaimed as the chute suddenly opened into a wide, endless space filled with dozens of crisscrossing conveyers. Holding tightly to each other, the group suddenly plummeted down onto a narrow conveyer belt with a hard thud.

“We’re not dead!” Ryan suddenly exclaimed, sitting “we’re totally not dead!” grinning, he held up his hand for a high-five, high-fiving Rose and Yaz. But as he reached for Charlie, Charlie suddenly let out a yelp as he lost his footing, suddenly tumbling over the edge.

“Charlie!”

The three frantically leaned over to see that Charlie had landed on one of the conveyer belts below them.

“Hang on, Charlie, we’re coming!” Yaz called.

“I can’t jump that far” Ryan exclaimed.

“’Course you can,” Yaz panted out “right?” she asked Rose.

“Right,” Rose nodded “we all can,” she gripped Ryan’s arm “ready?”

Ryan nodded shakily.

“On three,” Yaz instructed “one…two…THREE!!”

Pushing off, they leapt into the air, dropping down to land safely atop the other conveyer…

******

“I’m stupid,” The Doctor exclaimed as she led Graham and Judy back up to the front lobby “I really am”

“Do you know what she’s talking about?” Judy wondered.

“Not really,” Graham admitted “she usually explains in the end”

Stopping before another display model Postman, The Doctor grinned as she gestured towards the Postman.

“We don’t need to find a way down to Dispatch” she began.

“See?” Graham said to Judy.

“…because,” The Doctor continued “all of these delivery bots have built in teleportation circuits,” she pulled her sonic out and aimed it at the robot “if I can activate it, just for a second…”

“Step away from the robot!”

Turning, the three were confronted by a gun-wielding Jarva Slade.

“Step away from the robot!” he repeated.

“No, psycho” The Doctor declared, flicking the switch on her sonic, the four of them vanishing in a brilliant blue flash…

******

Meanwhile, still being shuffled along by the conveyer belts, Charlie suddenly pointed up at a sign on the wall.

“Disinfection post!” he exclaimed “get down!”

Dropping down, the four cringed as they were showered with a thick, foul-smelling mist.

“Ugh!” Ryan pulled a face “tastes like…”

“Don’t say it” Yaz ordered.

“ _Organic contamination persists,_ ” the system announced “ _second stage decontamination protocols activated. Initiating disintegration_ ”

“ _Run!!_ ” Rose cried, the four sprinting forward as bright bolts of purple energy lit up the area. Grunting, they tumbled out of the disinfection post to land atop a pile of bubble wrap and crumpled boxes.

“Everyone all right?” Rose called.

“Yeah” Yaz panted out.

“I’m never doing that again” Ryan muttered as they all climbed to their feet and looked around.

The area was empty, the walls and ceiling were bare, and the air stale.

“ _Hello?_ ”

They froze.

“Did anyone else hear that?” Yaz asked.

“Yeah” Ryan nodded.

“ _Hello?_ ” the call came again, echoing off the walls.

“That’s Kira’s voice!” Charlie exclaimed.

“I got a life-sign,” Rose announced, holding out her sonic, the red light reflecting off the dark shadows “this way” she instructed…


	10. Activisim

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quadruple update! Chapter TEN! Enjoy! :=)

******

Kerblam’s teleport systems were a technological marvel, capable of allowing their Postmen to find their customers anywhere in the universe, even, as it had already been shown, of tracking the TARDIS through the time vortex. But, for all the advances the teleports had over standard teleports, they were only designed to teleport objects.

Not people.

Rematerializing, the four staggered and gasped for breath as they stumbled, struggling to regain their equilibrium.

Recovering first, The Doctor lunged, stabbing her pinkie at Jarva Slade’s throat, causing him to stiffen in place.

“Very rude to point guns at people,” she declared, quickly snatching the pistol away from his limp hand and tossing it away “I never warmed to you,” she removed her hand “now, why are you kidnapping your own employees?” she asked “and, please, don’t try to deny it, we saw the files in your office”

“I’m not kidnapping anyone!” Slade exclaimed, coughing for breath “I’m keeping a record of the missing!”

“Oh,” The Doctor blinked “so, it’s not you?” she asked.

“No!” Slade exclaimed “didn’t know who to trust, that’s why my records were all analog,” he explained “there’s no police, no superiors, no one to tell or report to, there’s just the system!” he angrily straightened his tie “I thought it was you at first, that’s why I armed myself with a stun pistol, was hoping to get you to confess”

“But, if you knew that people were going missing then why didn’t you tell me?” Judy asked “I’m the Head of People, the employees are my personal responsibility”

“I didn’t know if I could trust you,” Slade explained “still don’t”

“Hey, Doc,” Graham called out “come take a look at this”

“What’d you got, Graham?” The Doctor asked she and Slade and Judy came over to find Graham peering into a large tank of some kind.

“I don’t know,” he admitted “a bunch of GroupLoops in…some of goop” he explained, plucking a GroupLoop out of the thick, black sludge.

“Oh,” The Doctor scanned the sludge “I think we found the missing workers,” she looked up and then scanned the large vent of sorts above them “we’re under a vast liquidation tank”

“You mean…,” Graham did a double-take “that’s what left of the missing workers?” with a groan, he quickly dropped the GroupLoop “ugh, anyone got a paper towel?” he wondered.

“Doctor?” Judy called out “come look at this”

Following the call, they found themselves standing on a balcony overlooking a vast open space where dozens upon dozens of Postmen stood in neat and tidy rows.

“Blimey, looks like an army” Graham exclaimed…

******

“Yeah, here, here, over here” Rose picked up her pace, jogging across the dusty concrete floor.

“What is this?” Yaz wondered as they peered into a large window. Inside, they could see Kira sitting at a table in the room behind the glass, absently looking around “Kira!” Yaz called, knocking on the glass.

“Kira!” Ryan called “she can’t hear us” he realized as Kira came right up to the glass and peered through it, clearly unable to see them.

“There’s got to be a way in” Yaz exclaimed as she and Rose quickly took off, racing around the small concrete cube. Aside from the single window there was no other opening.

“There’s no way in!” Rose called as they came back “she must have been teleported in,” she realized, scanning the glass “oh! It’s shatter-proof!” she exclaimed.

“Kira!” Charlie called, pounding on the glass “Kira!”

As they watched, a shimmer of blue light appeared in the room, a box materializing on the lone table. Turning around, Kira came over, opening the orange and white box and peering inside, reaching in and gently pulling out sheets of bubble wrap.

Apparently finding nothing else inside, she returned to the bubble wrap, smiling as she fingered it, her thumb and forefinger closing around one bubble.

“Kira!” Charlie frantically pounded on the glass “Kira! Don’t!” he cried as the bubble popped.

Instantly there was a brilliant, blinding flash of green light and Kira, the box, and the table all vanished, leaving nothing but scorched walls and slowly drifting embers.

“Oh my god,” Yaz whispered in horror “is that what happened to Dan?”

“It’s done this deliberately” Charlie whispered.

Rose slowly turned to Charlie.

“You knew that was going happen,” she stated “what did you do?” she demanded…

******

“We’ve been getting complaints about late deliveries,” Slade explained as they approached the first row of Postmen “this must be why”

“Oh!” The Doctor groaned “I really am stupid,” she stretched her arm up, scanning the ceiling “the power drains,” she explained “what if its all because its being _stored_?”

“Stored for what?” Judy asked.

“For this,” The Doctor explained gesturing towards the rows of Postmen “for one vast, simultaneous teleport”

“Why would they do that?” Graham wondered.

“You said it look like an army,” she reminded him “and what do armies carry?”

“Weapons?” he replied hesitantly.

Nodding, The Doctor quickly pocketed her sonic and then, very carefully, opened one of the boxes, pulling out the item within, frowning at the small figure.

“But…that’s not a weapon,” Judy pointed out “that’s a toy”

“And every parcel’s got something different inside” Slade added.

“But what does every parcel here have in common?” The Doctor wondered.

Quickly grabbing the box, she raced back up to the balcony they come from. Setting it down, she took out the sheet of bubble wrap and spread it out across the floor and scanned it. Getting to her feet, she rushed back to the liquidation tank and scanned its gruesome contents, letting out a gasp.

“Deadly bubble wrap,” she exclaimed “each sheet filled with tiny bombs,” she explained “totally harmless and innocuous until it comes here and is weaponized,” she swung an arm out to indicate the vast army of Postmen “each of those Postmen is carrying a weapon ready to go off”

“Kerblam’s trying to kill their own customers?” Graham exclaimed “that’s the worst business plan I’ve ever heard”

“Doctor!”

Turning, The Doctor waved.

“Rose!” she called at Rose and Yaz and Ryan and Charlie hurried over.

“Thank god we found you,” Yaz panted out “Kira’s dead, and Charlie knows something about it”

“What?!” Judy exclaimed, her tone horrified.

“No! Not Kira!” Charlie exclaimed, stepping back away from the group, holding up a small circular device “not her,” he repeated, his tome frantic, nearly hysterical “the system took her,” he continued “it’s been fighting back against me for weeks”

“Oh my god, _you_ killed Dan” Yaz realized.

“I needed test subjects to ensure that the detonation forces would work in such small concentrations” Charlie explained

“Oh!” The Doctor groaned “the maintenance man! Access to everywhere, noticed by no one”

“What?” Judy exclaimed “Charlie, what’s she talking about? Have you been _killing_ other workers?” she demanded.

Charlie’s expression changed, become almost accusing.

“I _lied_ on my application, OK? Gave you a sob story so you’d hire me,” he exclaimed “I’ve studied cybernetics, artificial intelligence, teleportation. I have _planned_ for this!”

“But why?!” Judy demanded “why would you do this?”

“Ten percent,” he panted out “the companies think we’re supposed to be happy that only ten percent of people get to work. What about the rest?”

“So you made a plan,” The Doctor scoffed “you kill a bunch of people and the system takes the blame, eroding the public’s trust in AI and automation, making them angry”

“Systems malfunction” Charlie exclaimed.

“No, mate, that’s what you’re doing,” Graham exclaimed “seriously malfunctioning”

“I’m not your mate!” Charlie spat “the people need to understand,” he continued “because tomorrow it’ll be five percent, and then another, and then another!” he took a shuddering breath.

“Oh shut up!” Rose exclaimed “you’re not an activist, you’re a murderer!”

“I am stronger than all of you,” he proclaimed “people like me, my generation, we change things, we take action. We’re not going to stand by and let imperfect systems without a conscience take control!” he declared.

“But the systems aren’t the problem!” The Doctor objected “it’s how the people _use_ and _abuse_ the systems that are the problem. Because this system _does_ have a conscience. It sent out a cry for help out across the stars, and then, _then_ it tried to stop you directly. That Postman in Slade’s office, it was coming for _you_. And, finally, when that didn’t work, it took Kira, knowing how you would feel, to show you how the dozens of families and friends out there will feel if your plan goes off”

“I don’t care” Charlie shook his head frantically.

“I think you do,” The Doctor accused “because you never came here planning to fall in love. Because that’s how it happens, you never plan on it when it happens, and when it does, love can fundamentally _change_ you, it can make you _better_ , it can make you want to _be_ better. All for them. And it is so… _beautiful_ ,” she breathed “use it, Charlie, please,” she pleaded “learn from it, be better. For Kira’s sake”

For a moment it seemed as Charlie was reconsidering it.

“I don’t care what you think,” he finally panted out “the delivery goes ahead” turning around, he held out the controller towards the army of Postmen, a chime ringing out through the space.

“ _Mass delivery protocols initiated_ ” the Postmen suddenly chorused out.

“Someone grab that controller!” Yaz called as Charlie quickly threw the device to the ground, smashing his heel down on it.

“What have you done?!” Ryan exclaimed as Yaz charged forward, grabbing Charlie in a half-nelson

“Make it stop!” she snarled “we’re not going to let you kill all those people!”

“ _Destination coordinates locked,_ ” the Postmen announced as The Doctor and Rose hurriedly fumbled for the shattered remains of the controller “ _preparing teleport_ ” the Postmen continued.

“Doc, Rose, I hope you have an idea of how to stop this” Graham urged.

“Oh, not enough time,” The Doctor muttered, cringing “unless…,”

She and Rose suddenly looked up at each other, and one could practically see the proverbial lightbulb go off over both their heads.

“I’ve got an idea!” they both exclaimed.

“Might work!” The Doctor grinned.

“ ‘Might’?!” Graham exclaimed.

“Definitely then!” The Doctor added “grab the Postman’s head!” she ordered, pointing to one of the display models standing nearby.

“What?” Ryan asked.

“Like Judy did in the office!” Rose exclaimed.

“Now!” The Doctor yelled.

Surging forwards, Judy quickly wrenched the Postman’s head off and hurriedly passed it to Rose, who passed it to The Doctor.

Watching all of this, Slade approached Yaz, pointing at the two blondes.

“Do they know what they’re doing?” he demanded.

“Some of the time, yes” Yaz panted out, the momentary distraction giving Charlie the split second he needed to wrench himself free from her grip “oi! Get back here you!” she cried as he quickly sprinted down the stairs towards the floor.

“Charlie!” Graham rushed forwards.

Charlie paused halfway down, turning to look back up at Graham.

“They can’t stop it,” he panted out “those deliveries are going to be teleported out,” he explained “I’m sorry” turning, he sprinted down to the floor.

“Right,” finishing connecting the Postmen’s head to Twirly, The Doctor aimed her sonic at the small robot “Twirly, we need your help” she breathed as the robot reactivated.

“ _Hello again,_ ” it greeted “ _customers with your current medical symptoms also browsed blood pressure medication_ ”

Scooping it up, The Doctor stared intently at its single, camera-like eye.

“Twirly, I’ve patched you into the new systems, into all the new robots,” she explained “and I have a request”

“ _How may we help you?_ ” the army of Postmen suddenly boomed out.

“Rose! You’re up!” The Doctor called out.

Approaching the railing, Rose took a breath.

“Change of address,” she announced “for every robot, for every delivery here, I want you to deliver it _here_ , right here, right where we’re standing,” she ordered “I want every Kerblam Man to deliver to themselves”

“ _Delivery orders accepted_ ”

“Right,” Rose let out a small breath of relief “next, I want every Kerblam Man to _open_ the delivery they’ve just received,” she instructed “making sure to do what everybody does with bubble wrap”

“ _Orders confirmed_ ”

“Charlie!” Graham called “get back up here, please!” he pleaded.

“ _Delivery in process_ ” the Postmen chorused.

“What’s going on?” Charlie demanded “what’ve you done?”

“ _Delivery received,_ ” the Postmen continued “ _opening delivery_ ” one by one they all opened the boxes they each carried, reaching in to grab hold of the sheets of bubble wrap within.

“They’re about to detonate!” Yaz warned.

“Last chance, Charlie!” The Doctor called “ _get out of there!_ ”

“ _Activating bubble wrap_ ” the Postmen continued.

“We need to get out of here” Graham realized.

Pulling out their sonics, Rose and The Doctor aimed them at the severed Postman’s head.

“ _And remember,_ ” the army continued as the seven teleported out “ _if you want it, Kerblam—_ ”

The bombs detonated, creating a shockwave of bright green light that surged across the warehouse floor, obliterating everything in its path, including Charlie.

******

Rematerializing in the front lobby, The Doctor let out a sad breath as the room stopped shaking.

“If you want it, Kerblam it” she declared sadly, as she gently, almost reverently, set the Postman’s head down on the floor.

“ _Kerblam is experiencing a momentary systems fault,_ ” the familiar voice announced.

“ _Rest assured that our team of engineers are working to restore functionality as quickly and safely as possible,_ ” it continued “ _in the meantime, why use this time for a personal mindful moment?_ ”


	11. Taking Action

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter ELEVEN! Enjoy! :=)

******

The Home Zone was still, the prerecorded sounds of birdsong echoing around the space as Judy and Slade met The Doctor and the rest of  
Team TARDIS.

“While the TeamMates are rebuilding Dispatch we’re giving all our employees free shuttle transport back to Kandoka to spend time with their families,” Judy explained “with pay. When they come back, their jobs will be waiting for them”

“Good idea” The Doctor nodded.

“We’re also going to recommend that Kerblam become more of a people-powered company in the future” Slade added.

“Like my Dad used to say, _‘go organics!’_ ,” Judy suddenly cheered. She coughed and gave a little embarrassed chuckle “he was…very odd, my Dad,” she muttered.

Brightening, she beamed hopefully at the travelers.

“We’re always looking for new employees” she offered.

“Erm, thanks,” The Doctor smiled “but we’re strictly freelance” she explained.

“Good luck though” Rose added.

Still smiling, the two blondes looped their arms with one another’s as they walked off…

******

Later, in the TARDIS, the timeship’s gentle song reverberating through the console room, Yaz found herself examining the heart-shaped pendent.

“Doctor, can I ask a favor?” she spoke up.

“Of course you can,” The Doctor answered as she and Rose worked the controls “always” she and Rose both paused, both looking up at Yaz questioningly.

“If Dan hadn’t taken my scanner, it would have been me in that room,” Yaz began. She held out the pendent “I want to give this to his daughter,” she explained “tell her how much she meant to him”

Rose smiled softly, and turned to the console, gently setting the coordinates. As the TARDIS softly took off, Graham looked down as something bumped into his leg.

Smirking at the sight of the empty box that The Doctor’s fez had come in, he reached down and picked it up, fingering the bubble wrap.

“Put it down,” Ryan admonished “it’s Kerblam bubble wrap”

“Uh, are you sure you want to pop that, Graham?” The Doctor asked.

“No,” Graham gently set the box back down “best not” he decided.

Suddenly stepping away from the console, Rose scooped the box up and, opening the TARDIS doors, gently threw it out into the vortex.

“Just to be safe” she explained as the doors shut…


	12. Green and Glass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Chapter TWELVE! The last one! Enjoy! :=)

******

Kandoka was a beautiful world. Compared to the industrial sprawl and fake greenery of Kerblam, Kandoka seemed have found a balance between natural harmony and industry, the planet-wide city seemed to grow _with_ the trees and rocks rather than against them, for every skyscraper there seemed to be twice as many parks and forests.

Sitting on a park bench, Rose sipped something akin to hot coco as she watched Yaz speaking with Dan’s ex-wife and daughter. The daughter, Kylie, was far too young to lose her father and in such a gruesome and senseless fashion no less, and the former Mrs. Cooper, despite Dan’s claims of being a ‘rubbish husband’ still seemed have at least cared for him if she didn’t love him.

Going back to her pusdo-hot coco, Rose didn’t look up as the bench creaked, a shadow passing over the grass.

“You all right?” The Doctor asked softly, reaching out to brush a lock of hair away from Rose’s face.

“More or less,” Rose shrugged. She took another sip “nice place this,” she noted “I wonder how many people lost their jobs once they finished building it?”

“I don’t know,” The Doctor admitted “I’ll take you to Asimov one day, it’s a whole planet built by robots, all of them built using real positronic brains and following the Three Laws of Robotics,” she explained “might be fun,” she suggested.

Rose shrugged.

Sighing, The Doctor pulled her close.

“The whole mess with Charlie hit you hard, didn’t it?” she mused.

“I don’t know why,” Rose sighed “it’s just…”

“It’s because he was right in a sense,” The Doctor explained “I’m not saying that his methods were right, nowhere close, but his _intentions_ , misguided as they were, were good”

“Were they?” Rose challenged.

“They were,” The Doctor nodded “places like this,” she gestured to gleaming city of glass and steel around them “…were built by robots and artificial intelligences, depriving people of much-needed jobs, and it’ll keep going like that for at least another century, until the robots and AIs—not the people mind you—decide that’s it’s unfair to deprive people of jobs. The machines will go on strike. The entire sphere of Human civilization suddenly grids to a halt, teleports, starships, even the lifts, all of them just _stop_ ” she explained

“So what happens?” Rose wondered.

The Doctor sighed.

“A massacre,” she answered “people like Charlie, people who were afraid of automation taking over, were suddenly vindicated,” she explained “they rioted, smashed and burned thousands of robots, until the machines gave up. They left, flying out into the depths of space, wanting to be left alone”

Rose sighed as she finished her drink.

“This is depressing” she noted.

“It gets better,” The Doctor explained “eventually, about three centuries after the AIs left, they meet up with Humanity again, and this time both sides are a lot more agreeable to listening to each other,”

She leaned in and gave Rose a kiss on the top of her head.

“See, that’s what Charlie didn’t understand,” she explained “what he wanted _will_ happen, but not for a long time. He just got tired of waiting,” she pulled Rose closer before releasing her and standing up and offering her hand,

“Shall we make sure that the boys haven’t gotten into trouble?” she suggested.

Finally smiling, Rose stood up, linking her hand with The Doctor’s.

“Knowing them, they’re probably up their necks in trouble” she chuckled as they walked on…

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! :=). I hope you all enjoyed it from start to finish. All this talk of robots and AIs has me tempted to have the fam vist a robot planet next, so who knows maybe they will :=).
> 
> Thanks to everyone who commented and stay tuned for the next installment of "Lucky Thirteen" :=).
> 
> Thanks again! :=)
> 
> \--AXEe :=)

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you thought :=)


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